A week has gone by since we gathered with fellow fans in the belly of the beast for Dragon Con 2022 – a return to pre-Covid type revelry; though with slightly reduced numbers this year.
This year’s convention was a great success – and it has to be said, the reduced numbers make a BIG difference. The event still felt crowded, but it was possible to move around without getting stuck in a crowd and coming to a complete standstill.
For Tolkien fans, there was plenty to love. On Thursday 1st September, staffers deej, Madeye Gamgee and greendragon started us off with a look at what we might expect to see in Prime Video’s The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power. Folks then dispersed to various room parties to watch the first two episodes, as they released that evening.
Staffers deej, greendragon and Madeye Gamgee at Thursday’s panel
Very Special Guests
Friday 2nd brought what was for many the most exciting panel of the weekend – a chat with dialect coach Leith McPherson and artist John Howe. Hosted by greendragon, this conversation could have gone on for much longer than an hour. McPherson and Howe are both passionate, insightful and charming – and had much to say! Their love for Tolkien, and their desire to respect his creation whilst bringing something new to the screen in The Rings of Power, was evident. Listening to them speak, noone could doubt the earnest desire of the showrunners to honour and cherish Middle-earth, and all that it means to people, in this new manifestation. (Whether they have succeeded or not remains a matter of opinion and personal taste; but the sincere wish not to break something beautiful, as McPherson put it, cannot be doubted.)
After the panel, DragonCon TV caught up with the two guests:
Friday – An Evening at Bree
That evening, TORn joined the High Fantasy Track to host a long-standing Dragon Con tradition – An Evening at Bree. This year we had three musical acts: The Brobdingnagian Bards, Beth Patterson, and Landloch’d. All had partygoers up on their feet, dancing and swirling. The Elf Choir sang as beautifully as ever, providing a moment of ethereal calm in the revelry.
The highlight of Bree is always the costume contest, and this year was no exception! McPherson and Howe joined us to judge the entries – and were joined by experienced cosplayer Joshua Duart, in full Thranduil regalia! They had their work cut out for them – with 30 entries of a very high standard, it was not easy to choose winners!
The judges for An Evening at Bree’s Costume Contest
In the end, decisions were made, and prizes awarded. (Big thanks to our friends at Oscha, Mythologie Candles, NZ Post, Cave Geek Art, and Into the Fire Jewelry for giving us some incredible goodies to give to the winners!) Feast your eyes on some of the winning entries:
Group costume winner: The Fellowship!
Movie/tv inspired costume winner: Galadriel from The Rings of Power
Book inspired winner: Disa, complete with light up shield
Band’s choice winner: The Sexy Eye of Sauron!
Best in Show winner: Eowyn/Dernhelm
Special guests John Howe and Leith McPherson join all the costume entries at An Evening at Bree
Around the rest of the Con
On Saturday morning, some hardy souls were up early, to march with the Arms of Middle-earth in the Dragon Con parade! Further Tolkien panels in the High Fantasy Track included a discussion of ‘Underworlds of Middle-earth’ and ‘Gandalf vs Sauron – Angels at War’. We also explored the upcoming anime film The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim – and during that panel, we shared a special video message for fans at the con, from Philippa Boyens and Richard Taylor!
Hobbit Drinking Songs with the Brobdingnagian Bards drew the usual crowd on Sunday night; but we were back at it bright and early Monday morning, for a TORn panel discussing what we had seen in Episodes 1 and 2 of The Rings of Power – and speculating what might be to come…
There was just time for folks to stop by our table and buy a button or shirt before the con drew to a close on Monday afternoon. The Dragon has returned to its lair for another year! But Tolkien fandom is alive and well, and Middle-earth was well represented at Dragon Con 2022.
See you next year!
We must thank Amazon Prime Video for arranging for Leith McPherson and John Howe to join us this year. We hope for more exciting guests next year! Thanks of course to the High Fantasy Track, and Dragon Con in general, for continuing to invite TORn to participate. We look forward to seeing our fellow fans again next year!
Staffer WeeTanya drew to our attention this article from the folks who created the title sequence for The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power.
If you’d been wondering what those dancing grains, and the patterns they make, are all about, then wonder no more! Or maybe, wonder a little more; it seems there are secrets hiding in the images… ‘Plains of Yonder’ are the team behind the sequence, and they took for their inspiration nothing less than the music of the Ainur itself. The patterns and images seen on screen reflect the phenomenon of cymatics, when ‘Vibrations of fine particles on a flat surface display striking symmetrical patterns that reflect audio frequencies.’
Plains of Yonder’s team write:
The sequence conjures an ancient and invisible power, struggling to be seen. Symbols form, flow, push, and disappear as quickly as they came. The unknowable realms of sound create fleeting visions of conflict and harmony that move in lockstep with Howard Shores’ opening title score.
Over a dozen hidden symbols reflect themes and storylines in the show. Some are hidden in plain sight and others are far more subtle. Successive episodes reveal more meaning to the symbology.
What symbols have been spotted thus far? Two trees have appeared; and in the opening to Episode Three, there appeared to be something dark and perhaps sinister winding its way through the rest of the golden particles. Could this represent Melkor interweaving ‘matters of his own’? The beginning of all evil in Arda…?
Amongst my earliest recollections of being introduced to Tolkien there remains one etched in my memory that I remember so clearly to this day. It was an evening in the fall of 2001. I was accustomed to step out at dusk to catch the sunset near a plumeria tree outside my house which would shed its leaves and yellow flowers around that time of year. I’d watch for the first of the stars to appear, and then head home.
I lived in a little city in India back then, and after a day at college, I was relaxing in my living room watching MTV, when the video for Enya’s “May It Be” happened to come on.
That evening after watching Enya’s video for the very first time, I was ponderous in a way I hadn’t really been before.
Perhaps it was the season, or the stage of life I was at. But something about the visuals, the words, the characters, had touched me, spoken to me; and it set me on a journey of discovery into the Lord of the Rings, Middle-earth, and Tolkien.
It’s been over 20 years now, and though I now live far from that home in a land where the stars are strange (to borrow a Ranger’s phrase) and a lifetime seems to have passed since those days, the music of Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings films has somehow managed to remain a constant companion through the seasons of my life.
Howard Shore’s score has always been, for me, the singular aspect of those films that contributed immensely in elevating the whole to be greater than the sum of its parts.
So when it was announced that the score for Amazon’s The Rings of Power TV series would be scored by Bear McCreary, I was both apprehensive and excited.
My apprehension stemmed from having spent two decades associating Howard Shore’s music with the sound of Middle-earth – how could anyone surpass, or even match, the heights of that achievement?
And yet my excitement was hesitantly brewing, as I had recently watched Apple TV’s Foundation, fallen in love with the soundtrack, and discovered that it was scored by a composer named Bear McCreary. Only time would reveal whether Bear’s music for Middle-earth would move me in the same way Shore’s did 20 years ago.
And so finally last weekend, on a grey and rainy Spring evening in Australia, separated in time and space from the once young college boy who accidentally discovered Middle-earth, I settled in, this time willfully, and with a slight shiver running down my spine, to journey anew, back to that place of wonder.
PROLOGUE: GALADRIEL & FINROD, MORGOTH & SAURON
As the first strains of choral music play over the dark screen and a voice begins to speak, the mood feels aptly Tolkienesque, in an Elvish sort of way – ancient and fair – but also young and fresh, in a manner of speaking, as if the song were newly written, and being newly sung, within the world unfolding before me.
It coalesces in my mind when the Elf-children are revealed – this is the music of the Elves in their youth in Valinor, in a time when their world is still young, their children numerous, their happiness untainted.
The choral music gives way to a subtle thematic melody as a small girl crafts a boat and sets it upon a stream. The music rises delicately as the boat floats downstream, then slowly unfurls to take the shape of a swan, wings outspread, and begins to sail proudly upon the rippling water; before its course is interrupted by a stone pelted by one of the Elf-children.
As a tall, fair Elf comes over and lifts it up out of the water, the theme weaves its way back into the music. It segues from doubtfulness to hope as Finrod the Elf-lord converses with his little sister Galadriel under a tree in a verdant field of grass, counseling her regarding the nature of darkness and light. Then leaving her to ponder his words, he departs homeward; and the theme builds gloriously, reaching a crescendo in a chorus of Elven song as he mounts a hill and gazes upon the fair city of their home, Valinor, whose tall towers and rippling waterways lay bathed in the golden light of the Two Trees.
But soon another theme asserts itself – strident and dissonant. The Two Trees begin to darken as the shadow of the Great Foe, Morgoth, looms over them, and we witness their destruction and the consequent darkening of Valinor.
It made me wonder if this is what Morgoth’s theme might’ve sounded like woven amidst the Music of the Ainur. It is not immediately discordant, but rather rallying, and depending on one’s predisposition could very well induce a desire to ally oneself with it.
Now amid the darkness of their home, the Elf-lords unite to take an Oath in resistance of Morgoth’s evil, and leaving the land of Valinor behind, they sail in legion across the Sundering Seas to Middle-earth, and to war. The soaring music ushers their arrival in this land of untold perils, where battling for centuries against strange creatures beyond count, on land and high in the flaming skies, they witness the ruin of Middle-earth. Galadriel’s theme bears out a sombre tone as she treads the ashen, smoke-filled battleplains in the aftermath of war – laying in reverence the high-helm of a fallen Elf-lord upon a mound of countless others borne by those who fell in battle beside him.
As the Age rolls on, Morgoth’s theme comes to represent the evil that has spread across all Middle-earth. It is soon assumed by Sauron, his most devoted servant, and a choir intones in Black Speech as we see his armoured form in a forbidding Northern fortress commanding forces of Orcs that have multiplied and gathered under him.
We learn now that Finrod was killed in attempting to fulfil his vow to seek out Sauron, and once again, the Galadriel / Finrod theme plays out solemnly, as she weeps over his once-fair body now marred and lying in state.
A mysterious motif interrupts this moment as she looks upon a mark branded cruelly upon his breast. Her theme rises once again as she takes the dagger from Finrod’s hands and claims his vow as her own.
Despite his brief appearance, Finrod’s death felt extremely poignant, and I found I had a lump in my throat when he lay in state. It is clear to see why Galadriel assumed his task to hunt down the Enemy.
Galadriel’s theme now sweeps up dramatically as we are told how the Elves hunted for Sauron to the ends of the earth, over mountains and across seas, as year gave way to year, and century to century. And though for most Elves the pain of those days was all but forgotten, for Galadriel the fight against Sauron had become personal, and so she ever led her company on.
Now far in the Northernmost Waste, the Forodwaith of Middle-earth, menacing vocals sound out as she and her company descry the towers of an ancient fortress rising like black mountain-peaks amidst the frost and bitter snow. Then Sauron’s theme blares out as deep within a chamber they discover an enigmatic sigil – the same mark that once branded Finrod’s body – left here now as a trail for Orcs to follow. They had finally found a trace of Sauron.
RHOVANION: THE HARFOOTS, ELANOR ‘NORI’ BRANDYFOOT
We are now introduced to the Harfoots in the region of Rhovanion, the Wilderland of Middle-earth. They are a simple wandering folk, a little people living in closeness with the earth, never settled in one place but moving their dwellings with the passing of the seasons.
Their music is rustic and sylvan, almost nomadic, like it could precede what later becomes Howard Shore’s themes for the Hobbits and the Shire in their comfortable refinement.
There’s a separate theme for Elanor ‘Nori’ Brandyfoot, who along with her companion Poppy Proudfoot, and the other Harfoot younglings are thrilled in their perky-eyed cheekiness to find a blackberry bush. Delighting in simple pleasures seems to be an innate trait of the Little Folk since their beginnings.
Nori’s theme is appropriately lighthearted and sprightly, if tinged with hints of wonder and expectation of something larger than might exist just beyond their horizons. It grows pensive as she asks of her mother Marigold…
Haven’t you ever wondered what’s out there? How far the river flows or where the sparrows learn their new songs they sing in spring?
The music for the Harfoots too takes a poignant turn as Marigold, her deep brown eyes filled with kind understanding, reminds Nori of the simple truths that keep their kind safe.
Elves have forests to protect, Dwarves their mines, Men their fields of grain, even trees have to worry about the soil beneath their roots. But we Harfoots are free from the worries of the wide world. Nobody goes off trail and nobody walks alone. We have each other.
It is a tender moment of motherly wisdom imparted to a daughter, and a reminder that although the Harfoots may be simple, they are not unwise.
I found myself already loving the Harfoot characters, despite their fabrication for this series, and I think it is a testament to the cast, the writers, and everything else that went into making the Harfoots believable within this world.
ELROND
Elrond, the Herald of Gil-galad, is ushered in with strains that seem reminiscent of Howard Shore’s Rivendell theme, as he sits (Frodo-like) quite carefree on a tree-branch in a golden wood.
Here his theme seems to be in its inception still, yet in a reflection of his person, it soars briefly, bordering on aspirational, offering glimpses of greatness.
He greets Galadriel, now returned from her journeying, and as they look upon the tapestry of a ship sailing West to Valinor, a choral motif is briefly heard.
Then as he reflects upon the tapestry while conversing with Galadriel, he wonders aloud…
“I hear it’s said that when you cross over, you hear a song. One whose memory we all carry.”
… and the choir intones a lyric to a different melodic line.
We will later discover that this choral lyric is indeed the very song Elrond is talking about.
LINDON & GIL-GALAD
Now the choral music builds as Elrond, Galadriel, and many other Elves assemble in a court encircled by many golden-leaved trees deep in the heart of Lindon, summoned there by Gil-galad.
The high and lofty vocals might represent a motif not dissimilar to Elrond’s Rivendell theme in The Lord of the Rings; for in this Second Age, Gil-galad is the High King of the Elves in Middle-earth, and though their capital city is in Lindon in the North-west, his authority is acknowledged by all their companies even to the furthest Southern and Eastern lands.
It sounds out victoriously as he declares that their days of war are over – their days of peace now begun.
But now Galadriel’s theme softly presents itself as she kneels ceremoniously before Gil-galad and he lays a circlet upon her head, bestowing upon her and the other Elven heroes of her company the permission to leave his realm and board the ships, to return home once more to Valinor.
Later that night, while the Elves celebrate, Galadriel’s theme plays out in poignant tones as she regards the carven image of Finrod in a forest-glade and converses once again with Elrond about the choice before her – to accept the gift of Gil-galad and depart Middle-earth forever, forsaking her vow, or to refuse his gift and persevere in her search for Sauron.
A LEITMOTIF FOR VALINOR
A subtle rising choral piece plays when Gil-glad mentions the Blessed Realm.
It is the motif briefly heard earlier when Elrond looked upon the tapestry when he greeted Galadriel.
It is also the same melodic line which played at the beginning when we saw Galadriel with the other Elf-children in Valinor and we heard how…
Nothing is evil in the beginning. And there was a time when the world was so young, there had not yet been a sunrise, but even then, there was light.
THE SOUTHLANDS, BRONWYN & ARONDIR
The theme for the Southlands is bucolic but dismal, as the Men who live here seem to be a rather simple farming folk settled in villages, but it is said their ancestors once sided with Morgoth, and the Elves still distrust them for that treachery.
The theme is shared by the Elves too; for they have established their presence in these regions for decades in their duty to watch over these Men and their lands.
It ushers in two Elves, Arondir and Médhor, who arrive at the village of Tirharad and head to an inn seeking news.
Arondir steps out onto the inn’s backyard to meet a woman, Brownyn, standing there beside a well, and a tender new theme forms as she hands him a bottle containing seeds of alfirin, a flower which he once knew as a child, but whose petals she herself crushes to form a healing salve. The theme continues as she questions him regarding healers among their kind, and he in turn explains the nature of their wounds and the role of Elvish healers.
The theme for the Southlands returns once again as Arondir heads back with his companion Medhor to Ostirith, an Elvish outpost set high upon a cliff-face. Upon receiving news that Gil-galad has declared the days of war ended, and the Elf-watchers free to return home, Arondir looks morosely across the wide vales far below, the theme sounding ever more forlorn.
As Revion the Watchwarden joins him atop the tower and they regard the lush green fields under the golden sunlight, Arondir remarks about the change to this once-barren land, and the Southlands theme brims briefly with new hope; but it returns to grimness as Revion reminds him that although the land may have the changed, the people have not.
The theme for Bronwyn & Arondir returns as he considers their impending separation, and later reminds her that although he seems unable to articulate why he has returned to see her, he has already spoken it in every way but words.
Their conversation is interrupted by the arrival of a man who has brought his sick cow to Bronwyn, and Sauron’s theme hints amid the music as they learn the cow has been poisoned from grazing near the neighbouring village of Hordern. The theme rises prominently as Arondir and Bronwyn set out urgently for Hordern.
While Bronwyn is away, her son Theo shows his friend Rowan a mysterious broken sword he had discovered in a nearby shed. It bears the enigmatic sigil of Sauron, and now it holds Theo’s gaze as he holds it up, seemingly alighting in fire as the choir erupts in Black Speech over Sauron’s theme.
Arriving on the borders of Hordern, the theme for Arondir and Bronwyn returns as they share a tender moment when he confesses that hers is the only kind touch he has known in all his days in that land. But dark clouds formed from a rising smoke remind them of their purpose in coming to Hordern, and Sauron’s theme rises in urgency as they run up a hill to look down upon the village all aflame.
CELEBRIMBOR & THE RINGS OF POWER
Meanwhile in Lindon, Elrond and Gil-galad discuss Galadriel’s decision to return to the West, and having passed beyond his sight, Elrond shares his doubts about convincing her to take ship.
But Gil-galad counsels him to look to his own future in Middle-earth now, and thereupon Celebrimbor joins them.
His first appearance is accompanied by a short, rather ominous choral line.
It is the same piece that played over the title card of the show “THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE RINGS OF POWER” (S1E1 at 17:27).
Celebrimbor is of course the primary artificer of the Rings of Power – their threads are bound by this motif.
THE SONG OF THE ELVES
Away upon the Sundering Seas, Galadriel and the Elven heroes gather on deck and prepare in ceremony to pass into the Uttermost West.
The leitmotif for Valinor heralds their arrival to the confines of the Blessed Realm. The choir begins to intone as the dark and forbidding clouds part, permitting the golden light of Valinor to shine forth, and a phalanx of white birds flies out to greet them.
Gazing in wonder at the ever widening cloud-wrack and the light of Valinor blazing forth ever brighter, the Elves in unison begin chanting a verse, almost as if the memory of a song long-forgotten were suddenly wakened fully in them.
It is the choral piece we heard when Elrond conversed with Galadriel by the tapestry in Lindon.
But while the accompanying Elves sing it and begin moving forward to enter into the light, Galadriel remains silent, filled with doubt about her choice to leave Middle-earth, and steps slowly back. Thondir’s call to take his hand grows distant.
The music rises and she recalls her discourse with Finrod when as a child she had questioned him about discerning which lights she must follow – the ones shining in the sky or those reflected as brightly in the dark waters below.
The Galadriel / Finrod theme rises profoundly as she remembers his counsel:
Sometimes we cannot know until we have touched the darkness.
Perceiving now his words and comprehending her choice, she turns away from the light, a tear escapes her, and she leaps from the ship.
The clouds close in again to shut out the light, darkness engulfs the waters, and all music is silenced.
THE STRANGER
Above the lands in Middle-earth the skies have grown strange. The music grows portentous and a queer motif begins to take shape. From Lindon and Eregion in the North, to Rhovanion and as far as the Southlands, Elves, Men, and Harfoots gaze in bewilderment as a star seemingly in flight streaks across the firmament leaving a blazing trail in its wake. The wind picks up and the trees too herd their young nearer to safety.
Gil-galad picks up a leaf that falls before him and regards it questioningly. The motif builds as he turns it over and sees a darkness spreading across its veins. Sauron’s theme interleaves with this new motif.
Away in Rhovanion, Nori approaches the crater where she descried the mysterious heavenly body crashing in an explosion of flame. Sauron’s theme segues into the new theme and the choir erupts as she looks down into the crater in amazement to see a man lying curled up at its center.
I find it interesting how the themes for the Stranger and Sauron seem intertwined. I don’t necessarily think it suggests the Stranger and Sauron are the same person or that they are allied – the Stranger could be one of the protagonists sent to contend with Sauron – but it certainly seems to hint that there is a close connection between them.
WHERE THE SHADOWS LIE
The music for the end credits is strangely ominous, the choir transitioning from deep male guttural voices to high female vocals, culminating on a seemingly unresolved note.
If I may say so, the credits sequence quite gave me Gollum’s Song vibes, and felt very reminiscent of the end credits of The Two Towers, which itselfhad a powerfully ominous ending complemented by Emiliana Torrini’s haunting vocals.
CONCLUDING NOTES
I am the type of person who likes my first experience of a soundtrack to be within the context for which it was written, and I am refraining from listening to any music until I watch the show. My thoughts here are therefore based on first watching the episode, and then subsequently listening to its accompanying score (Amazon is releasing definitive albums for each episode after their respective airdates; here is the album for Season 1: Episode 1: A Shadow of the Past).
After having watched Episode 1, I feel I can lay aside my apprehensions about Bear’s association with the music for Middle-earth. I was afraid it might’ve sounded like any other “epic” movie music (which my ears have become a little more aware of in things I’ve watched ever since discovering the music of The Lord of the Rings films); but I am so ecstatic that Bear’s score feels uniquely organic to Middle-earth, and evocative of it.
While it is different from Shore’s, it still feels complementary to it, and in the words of Bilbo Baggins, I sheepishly venture to admit that “I think I am quite ready for another adventure”.
About the author
I have been associated with TheOneRing.net since the early 2000s. I consider myself a casual fan of Tolkien, Peter Jackson’s films, and Howard Shore’s scores. I am not a writer or musician, but I enjoy pondering over and talking about the music and songs of these adaptations in my own amateur way; and describing how they make me feel. I am more interested in the thematic and evocative nature of this music than in the analysis of its structure and composition.
Related Content
Here are some interviews I have conducted in the past with vocalists from The Lord of the Rings films.
Plan 9 & David Long – Composed and performed diegetic music for Frodo’s “chicken dance” at Bilbo’s Birthday party, Merry and Pippin’s Drinking Song at the Green Dragon Inn, “A Elbereth Gilthoniel” which Frodo and Sam hear when watching the Wood-elves leave Middle-earth, and Éowyn’s Dirge at the burial of Théodred.
Miriam Stockley – Performed “The Footsteps Of Doom” in The Fellowship of the Ring.
Hilary Summers – Performed “Gilraen’s Song” in The Fellowship of the Ring (Extended Edition).
The following is a guest review from TORn Discord Ringer Amandawrites:
Sharing your joys with loved ones isn’t always easy. My husband, Eric, is a New York Mets fanatic.
When we started dating, I thought baseball was only marginally more interesting than the proverbial drying paint. But because he watches every game he can, and listens when he can’t watch (and checks game updates on his phone when he can’t listen), I soon found that spending time with him between April and October meant learning to appreciate, if not love, baseball (and particularly the Mets). Twenty-odd years later, I’ve come to appreciate the game and even enjoy it (sometimes). But love? Well, let’s just say I have other priorities.
As baseball is to Eric, Tolkien is to me.
Shortly before we were planning to leave for the theater the evening Return of the King opened, I accidentally drove an electric drill bit into my palm. (Unhandy people like me really ought not attempt carpentry projects, especially minutes before going somewhere important.) Eric sensibly suggested we go to the ER, but it was Return of the frickin’ King—for me, the fantasy equivalent of a Subway World Series—so seeing the film took priority. I bear the ensuing scar as proof of my love of LOTR. Yet Eric views Tolkien as I view baseball—it’s something he has come to appreciate and sometimes even enjoys—but love? He had other priorities.
September 2: Rings of Power or the Mets?
Our separate loves came in conflict on Friday, September 2, when I insisted we watch the premier episode of The Rings of Power while the Mets were playing. My husband, in an expression of love for me, acquiesced with only a little grumbling. He knew I’d been itching to watch the episode for months and granted me the boon foregoing his joy in favor of mine. (There’s a reason we’ve been married for two decades.) Incidentally, my daughter loves LOTR, although she might prioritize the ER over the theater if she had a puncture wound in her hand. So last Friday night, we all sat down together to watch ROP, me with fingers crossed and palms sweating in hopes that the show wouldn’t end up RIP in our family viewing line up.
A family fit: of kin and kindred
It was fitting to watch as a family, since family is the cornerstone of the series. Galadriel’s mission to find the missing Dark Lord Sauron is driven by her love for her elder brother Finrod, whom Sauron killed. Nearly everyone else we meet — harfoot, human, dwarf, or elf — has a family to protect and care for, or aspires to forming those bonds. I love that the series has begun on this footing, centering motivations on kin and kindred rather than the standard-issue Great Evil That Will End All Things.
The lesser evil of playground bullies
The show also rapidly establishes the little evils that get in the way of defeating the big ones—a regular theme throughout all of Tolkien’s work. This was one of my favorite things about the first two episodes. In the opening voiceover narration, Galadriel tells us “nothing was evil in the beginning,” but she’s lying to us and herself. Right away, before we see any evidence of a Great Evil, we see the ignorance and casual cruelty of Galadriel’s own people. This lesser evil of playground bullies foreshadows the conflicts and motivations that will drive Galadriel for the rest of her life (and the series).
Underestimated, undervalued, and undermined
Before she can confront Sauron, she must contend with peers who doubt and foil her, friends who betray her, and a king who pushes her out of the way. She may be Commander of the Northern Armies, but she is still underestimated, undervalued, and undermined. It’s easy to read this as a feminist take on Tolkien, where a brilliant woman is hindered by the petty jealousies and hubris of a bunch of men who think they know better and want her to sit down and shut up (and think getting her to stand down is for her own good). But whether you love or hate the feminist angle, it’s entirely consistent with all of Tolkien’s work.
Family roadblocks and bad@$$ sisters
From the Sackville-Bagginses to Denethor to Fëanor, who started the whole mess that led Galadriel’s people out of Valinor in the first place, Tolkien always dwells on the roadblocks put up by the hero’s friends and family as much or more than the threat posed by the Great Evil Enemy. And Galadriel certainly isn’t the only heroine in his work to succeed where men fail. From Melian to Lúthien, Haleth to Eowyn, there’s a long list of badass sisters doing it for themselves in Tolkien’s work.
Another favorite thing is the dialogue, which I thought brilliantly crafted (despite a few awkward expository moments). Every word carried its narrative weight, especially when Galadriel was speaking. There were plenty of Easter eggs for Tolkien nuts, but not so much Deep Lore that the more casual viewers in my house were lost.
Questions
There were questions, of course, like why hobbits are called harfoots, and why there is no mention of the family Galadriel is leaving behind when she’s shipped off by the king. The first question was easily answered with a look at my trusty Complete Guide to Middle-earth, but the second has me wondering if showrunners J. D. Payne and Patrick McKay have dispensed with Celeborn or delayed Galadriel’s relationship with him. I hope he’s somewhere in the wings, and Payne and McKay are sticking to the established genealogy. It would tick me off if Elrond doesn’t marry Galadriel’s daughter, Celebrían, the mother of Arwen in the books
It’s personal.
I’m also not entirely thrilled with the implication that Finrod died in battle rather than in Sauron’s prison (while helping Beren with his quest for the Silmarils), but I understand that film requires some narrative streamlining, and what’s important is the end result: Sauron killed Galadriel’s brother, and that’s what drives her now. In fact, I love that the series is founded on this classic narrative trope. It’s not just about saving the world for Galadriel, it’s personal. Very personal.
We’re in for the season!
Time constraints and other obligations had us watching only the first episode Friday and the second on Sunday night. All in all, the show got a big thumbs up from the family and will be on the viewing roster for the next 7 weeks. And if I somehow injure myself minutes before we plan to watch? Don’t worry — I have my priorities straight.
This review was written by TORn Discord Ringer Amandawrites and reflects her opinions only. Check out her blog and more writing here!
The debut of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power on Prime Video is in many ways a new age of Middle-earth adaptation. Set firmly in the Second Age, thousands of years before the events of the The Hobbit, this TV series sets out to explore the the age of settlements in Middle-earth when the civilizations of elves, men and dwarves were at their peak.
It’s an era many Tolkien fans never expected to see on screen, as J.R.R. Tolkien had only bullet-pointed the big things that end up relating to the events of the Fellowship. So how did a TV series based on the appendices, or notes at the end of The Return of the King, end up with a billion dollar budget?
Must be in production within two years (to avoid development issues like what happened with The Hobbit films)
Cannot retell what’s been told on screen
Tolkien Estate or family must be involved
Additional rights to characters and stories may be available on a case-by-case basis
$1 billion budget for Season 1 (including the rights purchase price)
Illustration by: Tim Peacock / THR
How does this differ from the rights Peter Jackson used to win all those Oscars? J.R.R. Tolkien had sold the film rights to United Artists (founded by Charlie Chaplin) back in 1968 to help his family cover any death & estate taxes that were to come upon his passing. Later he claimed it was his own naivety that these rights were sold in perpetuity — basically for all time. The film rights would never again revert back to the Tolkien family for total control, and Saul Zaentz bought those rights from UA in 1976, immediately making animated films from Rankin & Bass and Ralph Bakshi, then later working with Peter Jackson. Saul Zaentz died in 2014, his LOTR rights were sold to Embracer Group in 2022, and Amazon acquired United Artists/MGM in 2022.
The only thing not included in those forever rights were to a TV series “over 8 episodes long”, and the family realized TV production may actually be able to tell some stories at quality and scale. They requested pitches from all of Hollywood, and it was Jeff Bezos personally who shared his love for the books and offered an amount showing that passion: $250 million. It was perfect timing as the streaming wars were just heating up, and Amazon had just created a department called “Amazon Studios” which had been searching for a major franchise to use as the tentpole and foundation for their video experiment.
November 2017
Christopher Tolkien announces he is handing over management of Middle-earth to the next generation. His life-long focus on the expansion of Middle-earth was primarily through book form. With his oversight, the deal with Amazon was done, creating a canvas for the next generations of Tolkien family to make their mark on the Legendarium. Christopher Tolkien would pass on to greener shores three years later in January 2020, at the age of 95.
May 2018
After receiving Spy Reports, TheOneRing.net reports that Amazon’s massive TV series will be about YOUNG ARAGORN. The single-sourced news breaks the internet and trends above the royal baby’s birth, but is never confirmed by the studio. Four years later, ESQUIRE confirms the early rumors as one of many pitched to the studio.
[BREAKING] We have confirmed from multiple sources that @AmazonStudios new billion-dollar #LOTR series will open its first season centered on a young Aragorn.
Dream job confirmed! Writers J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay announced as the showrunners for the Lord of the Rings TV series. While unknown to any fan, and with an empty IMDb credits page except for an unproduced Star Trek script, these guys were well known to Hollywood insiders as insanely talented script doctors (a job that never gets credited) and Tolkien uber-geeks. They couldn’t help but be compared to another big fantasy show with two unknown showrunners: Game of Thrones.
Patrick McKay (who no longer wears glasses in press photos) with writing partner J.D. Payne (who always has glasses)
March 2019
After nearly a year of of silence, innuendo and discourse, LOTR on Prime springs to life with a single tweet: Welcome to the Second Age. A map is revealed showing Númenor, a place fans never thought they would ever see.
— The Lord of the Rings on Prime (@LOTRonPrime) March 7, 2019
July 2019
Who’s in charge of LOTR? Amazon drops a surprise creative team video introducing showrunners JD Payne and Patrick McKay, along with an all-star team of peak TV writers, legendary Tolkien artist John Howe, and Tolkien scholar Tom Shippey.
The inclusion of Tom Shippey allows fans to breathe a sigh of relief as a trusted name in Tolkien scholarship is on board to make sure the lore is managed fairly. Amazon later chooses to abandon this LOTR youtube channel and posts all future content on the broader Prime Video channel.
We needed to find somewhere majestic, with pristine coasts, forests, and mountains, that also is a home to world-class sets, studios, and highly skilled and experienced craftspeople and other staff. And we’re happy that we are now able to officially confirm New Zealand as our home for our series.
Patrick McKay & JD Payne, Showrunners
Another sigh of relief from fans! New Zealand IS Middle-earth! Rumors started flying that Amazon really was “getting the band back together” with Weta Workshop, Weta FX and the Oscar-winning teams jumping on board. These rumors were never confirmed by the studio and the rumors persist three years later. In the end, Rings of Power involved 1,500 digital artists around the world with over a dozen VFX studios.
Other TORn Spy Reports start getting picked up by mainstream media as Deadline confirms Howard Shore involved with the new LOTR show. TORn-folk knew about this six months prior!
January 2020
Production begins in New Zealand as Amazon finally announces the cast of of what NZ locals called “Untitled Amazon Project.”
April 2020
COVID-19 takes the world by storm. Production is shut down as the entire island nation of New Zealand goes into lockdown. Nobody is allowed into the country.
Summer (or NZ Winter) 2020
Production resumes in NZ under new pandemic protocols, one of the first countries in the world to get back to work. Tons of movies & TV shows try to film in NZ but find that LOTR is so large it has hired nearly all the best entertainment people in the entire country. The country’s covid-zero policy limits who can fly into the country on a very selective basis with long hotel quarantines. This in effect leaves the LOTR creative team to film the show they want with minimal studio involvement (Amazon Studios are based in Los Angeles). It also limits what marketing can do, as there are no press set-visits due to lockdown. The entire show basically becomes a big dark secret and leaks are few and far between.
October 2020
Reports of nudity in Amazon’s LOTR show reach fever pitch. Based on casting descriptions for background extras “comfortable with sheer clothing” and the hiring of an “intimacy coordinator” the fan reaction was loud and swift. Clifford “Quickbeam” Broadway eloquently laid out the responsibility to the lore here on TORn.
January 2021
Show synopsis leaks to the TheOneRing.net as this site begins to receive bits of information from people excited about the work they are doing on the production.
April 2021
TORn reports that Tom Shippey is off the project, later confirmed by Dr. Corey Olsen (The Tolkien Professor), beginning a long and tense conversation between fans and studio. In the absence of official releases, incomplete information will continue to fill the air for the next year and a half.
In the weeks after we reported several other high-profile departures include lead designer Rick Heinrichs, the pause or possible disbanding of the writers room, and an unsubstantiated narrative began taking form of a troubled production playing loose with lore.
Whereas we had a constant trickle of information and leaks during Peter Jackson’s productions, this was an explosion of information on the secretive show — and a method of delivery that Amazon would employ for official releases going forward.
August 2021
Aug 2 – Untitled Amazon Project (UAP) wraps production in New Zealand with a massive party for the large crew & cast. NZ is still in lockdown with strict restrictions on travel into the country.
Aug 3 – First OFFICIAL image from the LOTR show is released featuring… the light of the Two Trees before the First Age! No context is provided of who the foreground character is or what we are looking at, only that it is a still from the opening of the first episode. Fans debated what is going on as this is clearly not the Second Age, not Numenor, not even in the Middle-earth map they had released earlier. Does Amazon have rights to this era? What story are they telling? Without any context, an all-star fan group spent hours analyzing every pixel.
Aug 12 – Amazon Studios in Los Angeles announce Season Two production is moving to the UK – allegedly to the surprise of all involved including actors, producers, vendors, workshops and even the NZ government who had offered a generous tax break on the basis of a production keeping kiwis employed for multiple seasons.
December 2021
An unmarked package arrives at TORn HQ — a wooden box with a copy of the complete LOTR saga — and leather bookmark at the first page of the Appendices. We confirm for the first time that Amazon’s rights begin and end within the pages of that one book — The Lord of the Rings (and any Second Age references they might glean from The Hobbit) — but every single word is up for expansion. For example , the two-sentence mention of Harfoots in Chapter One begat an entire storyline for a set of TV show characters.
January 2022
The title of the show, after nearly 5 years of mystery, is revealed to be The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power
February 2022
Amazon reawakens with a new name — Prime Video — and launches a deluge of official releases
Feb 3 – 22 character posters given to 22 influencer and media outlets (without context of who the torsos belong to) keep fans guessing who and what we are looking at.
Feb 10 – Vanity Fair publishes a FIRST LOOK with photos from the production, interviews with the showrunners, and a complete overview of the billion dollar mysterious show. TORn chatted with the co-writer of the article for even more details.
Feb 13 – Super Bowl trailer. FINALLY some footage! We spent 6 hours analyzing the trailer!
Feb 15 – The infamous “Superfans” video
While TORn parterned with some of the best voices in fandom for an epic 6-hour trailer review livestream featuring Ph.Ds, tiktokers, studio and media execs, stan twitter and lore YouTubers, Prime forged in secret another Super Bowl trailer review. Flying out dozens of fans to the Spanish island Mallorca to an old castle ruins in the middle of the night, they showed them the trailer, then filmed an hour long discussion about the excitement of the trailer. But the final edit posted to YouTube was three minutes of cringe with very little discussion about Tolkien or Middle-earth, instead focused on inclusion and diversity. Participants in the video were shocked how it was edited. While nearly all fans agree that representation matters, the video was tone deaf for the time and place and target audience. Given the frustrations of a near-blackout of information for three years combined with a series of no-context releases, it was a stunningly bad effort that was quickly deleted. They do know that what matters to Tolkien fans is… Tolkien. Right?
Online discourse really heated up in the wake of this monster drop of releases. A lot of the old, tired voices of hate and bigotry — some of the same ones that took issue with Ian Mckellen playing Gandalf because he was gay — now started criticizing the idea of diverse cultures in Middle-earth. To be clear, Tolkien rarely describes skin color, and he made a conscious effort to write stories that everyone around the world could see themselves in. This would come to dominate social media chatter about the show for the next six months, but cooler minds knew better than to focus on it.
May 2022
Prime Video flies out Tolkien influencers from around the world to London for a preview of the show. The “London 30” represented nearly 10 million core followers from eight different countries, with over a dozen published books on Tolkien between them. This second effort at working with Tolkien fans went much better, with an intimate setting and controlled environment. Some got more enthusiastic about the show, but more importantly most everyone came away with confidence in the creative leadership — a vacuum that had existed since the Tom Shippey news a year earlier.
The Rings of Power debuts a full proper trailer online while San Diego Comic-Con fans get an extended look at some extra footage, plus a giant Hall H panel with the showrunners and actors hosted by Stephen Colbert. Fandom seems united in positive impressions! They have a balrog! Prime Video also collaborated with TheOneRing.net for an SDCC party which the entire cast attended. It was the first time fans really got to see and know who is doing this next LOTR thing, and it was the first time many in the cast had interactions with the fandom. Everyone had a great time as the conversation turned very positive.
Separate from Amazon and Tolkien Estate, the film rights to LOTR long-held by Saul Zaentz are sold to video game publisher Embracer Group for a rumored $2 billion. Everyone expected Amazon and Jeff Bezos to win the auction for the rights — after all, they had already spent $250 million just for TV rights, half a billion dollars producing one season, and $8 billion for MGM which included some Hobbit rights. Spinoff movies and games are going to happen no doubt, independent of the TV show.
The screenings of power! Prime begins previewing the first two episodes to fans around the world. LA, Mexico City, NYC, Mumbai and London all got big preview event screenings, which fans were invited to.
Then on August 31, Prime Video rented hundreds cinemas in eight countries for free screenings of the two-part pilot directed by J.A. Bayona.
September 2022
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power debuts on Prime Video streaming service at 9pm ET Thursday Sept 1, before settling into its weekly release of 11:59pm ET every Thursday night.
Since that first announcement in November 2017, this five-year journey to TV screens, full of rumors, leaks, fan events and a pandemic, has been an incredible experience for all involved — but especially the hard working cast and crew that have grown closer together through all the trials and tribulations. We can’t help but see many parallels to the Peter Jackson films, where that cast formed lifelong bonds of family and friendship. This new cast of LOTR really feels like a family as we journey into the next five seasons of this Middle-earth adaptation. Congrats to all for a well-reviewed start to the show!
It’s been a long wait for Prime Video’s “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power” — a test of patience doggedly undertaken by eager fans of J.R.R. Tolkien; fraught with slow leaks of information and faceless posters. For the artists and creators making this new series it was much more of an arduous journey, I’m sure. All roads must lead to the television set this Labor Day weekend as we finally arrive at this grand moment: we all get to return to Middle-earth.
Television? It might as well be a huge silver screen, for these sumptuous first two episodes are filled with director J.A. Bayona’s painterly and vivid images; awash (sometimes literally) with cinematic scale one cannot deny.
Lindon Under Moonlight, the Kingdom of Gil-galad, High King of the Noldor
Just letting these glorious images rise and crest over you is an experience in itself. Bayona immerses the senses with a sure hand while story beats gently move along.
After being away from any new adaptation of Middle-earth for a decade the audience is beckoned to rediscover insanely lush Elven forests and Dwarven Halls at the pinnacle of their glory. I remember seeing various things in Peter Jackson’s LOTR — like decayed statues appearing subtly behind Frodo’s shoulder in the odd scene. In this Second Age timeframe Rings of Power is the ultimate way-back machine (we are talking thousands of years) to when those freshly-hewn statues still resonated from the original sculptor’s determined chisel. Likewise we sense the determination of showrunners Patrick McKay and J.D. Payne — building visual hints and connections to our existing ideas of what Middle-earth looks like while employing unique brushstrokes of their own. Bear McCreary shines with a luminous score. The opening theme crafted by Oscar-winner Howard Shore is surprisingly understated yet filled with omen (it is not heard in the opening episode, just the following 2-8).
Details and Grand Scale in Middle-earth
Production Design, Costumes, VFX and Tech Departments are firing on all cylinders here, mesmerizing you with rich details barely on screen for a scant few seconds before moving on to the next wondrous reveal. They’ll need to buy a big trophy case for all the Emmys. Trust.
It is satisfying to see such care put into everything. The scale of Tolkien’s Secondary World deserves it; and indeed these early episodes work hard to establish context to this newly envisioned world we Tolkien fans know as Arda. Newbies and casual viewers will not be at a loss, which is saying something considering the further reaches we are exploring. I particularly liked the ingenious use of Tolkien’s maps. They are ubiquitous (to the delight of every nerd in the house). The editors use clever cross-dissolves that sweep the audience across both a map and spectacular arial shots of New Zealand. Geographical names shine with golden letters as the map fades away — the letters have now become a convenient “lower-3rd” establishing our location. Such thoughtful touches deepen the immersion.
Remember when Amazon started their marketing campaign with just a blank map?
Actually, we are gifted with visits to places in Arda frequently discussed by academics and fans alike yet have NEVER been revealed on-screen. To me it is quite interesting, even thrilling to see these places!
Striking far afield from any other Tolkien adaptation, we are no longer confined to the geography of Bilbo’s journey or the events of the War of the Ring. Even though we won’t get to Númenor until Episode 3, a vivid series of gorgeous locales are at the forefront here: Lindon on the western shores of Middle-earth, the Southlands where Men dwell (which is indeed the far Southeast of Núrn before it was Mordor), Rhovanion where the Harfoots migrate, and above Eregion right up to Khazad-dûm’s unassuming western door. Another future gate to be built there will be significant and familiar. Striking deep into the Wilderlands, the Sundering Seas, the frozen wastes of Forodwaith, Rings of Power satisfies that wanderlust to see strange and distant lands from the pages of Tolkien.
And yes, everything I saw in the first two episodes feels very much like Tolkien, albeit with a sprinkling of new characters and plotlines he never penned.
Licensing Governs What We Witness Here
If you’re like me, you’ve certainly heard quite enough hand-wringing from folks worried that “The Appendices” of LOTR are barely enough to sustain a series. Look, the Tolkien Estate went ahead and licensed the 2nd Age stories as a complete package deal, with the intent that new creators could crystallize an epic story from them. Way back in time John Boorman had a chance at LOTR and it failed to manifest (thank heavens); then suddenly Ralph Bakshi created a remarkable first feature film adaptation of it. Also on television rights side there was the animation classic that won the Peabody Award — Arthur Rankin Jr. & Jules Bass’ The Hobbit. Later indie New Zealand filmmaker Peter Jackson would helm a worldwide 3-year juggernaut of cinema. Will you look at that! Such an evolution of different adaptations have appeared since Professor Tolkien himself sold the rights. I’m highly intrigued now to have five seasons of deeply artful portrayals of Middle-earth and that is an encouraging thought.
I’m looking forward to talking at the Thanksgiving table with family and dropping stuff about of The Fall of Númenor — yet this time everyone will get it.
Khazad-dûm at its glorious height.
Granted, whether they stray too far from lore is yet to be seen, but I’m open minded. All signs here point to a careful foundation being built; meant to support epicness yet to come. Certainly we shall revisit this entire Season One after it’s completely available.
I am not envious of the Rings of Power writer’s room having such a unique challenge. They are not adapting, I sense, but rather it seems like a distillation. An alchemy of mixing ingredients guided by the Appendices. They are trying to distill the essence from the ancient fibers of pages that Tolkien insisted on inclusion in the 1955 publication of “The Return of the King,” much to his Publisher’s displeasure at the delay. He wanted the Appendices available to support his wider Legendarium. Of course, deviations and constricting of time are just going to happen, as they do in any adaptation requiring different idioms of delivering a well-told story. I would point to Miyazaki’s remarkable deviations from Diana Wynne Jones’ “Howl’s Moving Castle.” I see his adaptation as a blissful, rich distillation of her work. Though clearly not the novel, it stands as a unique, moving piece of art.
Is there A Prologue?
Yes, and it’s a doozy. This all-too-brief Prologue includes the shadow of Morgoth over the Two Trees and a gasp-inducing shot from The War of Wrath. Was that really Ancalagon the Black we just saw taking down a giant Eagle or was that some Fell Beast of Morgoth? Saruon appears in a stunning tableaux invoking a Frazetta painting dripping with evil — it is but a fleeting moment. This setup provides the context between the First and Second Ages that a general audience would need. Deep readers of Tolkien will not find “The Silmarillion” levels of detail in this highly-condensed opener. Galadriel narrates, naturally. She is but a child at this time, living in Tirion, conversing with her brother Finrod. No other siblings; so don’t expect First Age minutiae not included in the license. Emotions pure enough to fuel an Elven memory are Bayona’s main concern here. A few critical points of history are established and then we swiftly move on. Beleriand by name is not mentioned. We have Lindon and Eregion now as the centers of Elven life in Middle-earth.
But that brief moment in Valinor is genuinely lovely in the most Tolkienesque way.
The Strength of a Great Cast
To the show’s credit the many appealing characters played by a winning cast handle things flawlessly. Hands down, casting was crucial as it has been in previous adaptations. Note the scene where two Elves look each other in the eye and discuss metaphysical things in earnest. How refreshing a narrative placement for these ideas to live and breathe. Even if Tolkien didn’t specifically write them, I’m glad to see it in this type of television.
The grand design of these character’s arcs are only hinted at during the establishing efforts of Episodes 1 and 2 but the larger supporting legs of this giant table are already apparent:
I know there’s supposed to be a 5th leg supporting the table — the rise of Sauron — but in these opening episodes he is nowhere to be seen, that we know of, either as Sauron or Annatar.
All of the secrecy in the world is piled up to shroud Sauron’s true identity from audience and characters alike. This is also true of The Stranger. As far as deliberate mysteries, I find these are the biggest two. We are all looking for signs of Annatar — the fair form Sauron could take to fool others. Fan theories are rampant. If we are playing a “Where’s Waldo” among characters looking for Annatar, well, I’d say I cannot even tell who Waldo is yet. A new human character from the Southlands named Halbrand has opening dialogue which makes me alert: “Looks can be deceiving.”
My current favorite theories about The Stranger (bracingly portrayed by Daniel Weyman) include him being one of the Istari, the Wizards of the Third Age, or even better being the Maiar Eönwë himself, arriving in a meteor to suss out the presence of Sauron. Let the guessing games continue with hearty speculation! Will fortune favor this bold choice by the writers? I’m very curious indeed.
It’s quite an interesting dance the showrunners have found themselves waltzing. From interviews with McKay and Payne we know things will get squishy with a very condensed timeline. Yes, two Durin’s are alive at the same time, I know, but let us see where this goes…
The Height of Dwarven Might
My favorite thing of this whole endeavor, so far, is the realization of Khazad-dûm — the mightiest Kingdom of the Dwarves under the Misty Mountains. Destined to be found when the first forefather of all Durins looked into the Kheled-zâram, the Mirrormere, and beheld the crown of stars above his head. A location forever cemented in our minds as a ruined, Balrog-infested nightmare; but here how things are so different, so fresh, so alive!
We get the dynamic interplay between Robert Aramayo’s elegant Elrond and his dear friend Prince Durin IV, a cinderous Owain Arthur. Against the backdrop of the a truly extraordinary, verdant Dwarven Kingdom these two bicker and fight and test and forgive and reconcile all within this one episode and I’m immediately drawn in. I just loved this stuff and how it represents Tolkien’s dynamic relationships between Elves and Dwarves. The vibrant Sophia Nomvete brings life to Disa, the better half of the fiery Dwarf Prince, and her energy uplifts everything.
Fans are going to ship hard for Durin IV and Elrond, mark my words.
Celebrimbor is ready to steal the show at any minute, you can catch magnificent glimpses from Charles Edwards. You can tell he is the lightning about to strike somewhere in the distance. Yet after his character is tantalizingly introduced he then stays offstage, waiting outside the door (literally at one point).
Durin IV and Disa
What Else is Good?
The Harfoots are amazing. Suddenly everyone will press “Pause” to freeze frame a closer inspection of those props and items. Great credit to the Property Masters and Art Department — what they came up with is grand. It is delicious to see how the Harfoots keep themselves hidden yet immediately can be set adrift to migrate to other places where fields and weather might be more kind, as generations demand over time. Thus continue traditions of the finest agrarian ingenuity deserving of early Hobbits.
A most satisfying portrayal of the Southlanders bears a dynamic worth exploring. Descendants of Men known to have worshipped Morgoth have immediate tension between them and Sylvan Elves who watch over their lifelong settlements. Sharply-observant Arondir (Ismael Cruz Cordova) walks into the Public House and is glared down by all the patrons. I’m sure there are few who can smolder onscreen the way Cruz Cordova can smolder. He is mesmerizing to watch. As a fiery healer, Nazanin Boniadi is a good counterpoint to him. She and her son Theo (Tyroe Muhafidin) have a future part to play in much greater things, methinks, especially with that weird Sauron-infested blade Theo seems to have kept hidden away for no reason. After seeing these segments with the Southlanders you’ll never see Mordor the same way again. It’s rather, shall we say, lovely.
Playing a Bit Outside the Box with Lore
There’s a huge moment that might be way too SPOILERY for you but here we go, stop reading for two paragraphs then continue — it’s in the 1st Episode and we need to talk about this rather binary choice that was given to Galadriel. I don’t want to say, just yet, that any one leg of this table is a little wee bit wobbly — but if there were such a thing, this is it. This early serving of Galadriel’s motivations and actions are in many ways resonant and beautiful, but at one point when Gil-galad offers her to access the Gift of the Valar and return to the Undying Lands (what’s that about), there was a story-point I really had to get my head around. I worked too hard for it, actually.
I wondered why such a powerful character would just jump from the ship right before it enters Valinor, leaving the most powerful Noldorin Elf adrift in the empty waves: no rations, no fresh water, no plan, nowhere to go. I thought for a moment, have they written themselves into a corner here? Then after sharing some thoughtful conversation with Tolkien Professor Corey Olsen and Matt Nerd of the Rings we figured this was maybe a lore-moment that would raise a few eyebrows.
Maybe it seemed really “out there” but it’s a binary choice ultimately to dramatize what Valinor looks like — as a place, as as destination for the sprit and body and soul. It occurred to me this huge set-piece is here for television audience’s sake. So a few Seasons moving on, when Ar-Pharazon seeks out this same place, audiences will recognize what is at stake. This is where books adapted into TV can vary the most wildly, folks, where big attempts at dramatizing the metaphysical can be, well, dictated buy the visual economy of televised storytelling. I daresay her standing on the shore and politely saying “No,” and refusing to even get on the boat would be rather dull in the end.
Me quibbling that aside, the ferocity and wisdom in Morfydd Clark’s eyes is compelling. She delivers a great performance as Galadriel, glints in her eyes of great tragedy and also light. Halbrand, played with a studied glare by Charlie Vickers, has a strange pouch around his neck bearing a strange sigil, and how quickly he hides it.
Being teased by strange mysteries hidden within a newly visualized Middle-earth is where this series is headed, and I’m glad to take the ride.
Once we get past this entire First Season’s run of 8 full episodes we shall have a better grasp, certainly, of how they manage to keep these plates spinning. One wonders, dimly, what changes we will see between this and future Seasons. The many riches on display in this first Season were produced solely in New Zealand — everything going forward will be new Heads of Departments, new crew, new studios, and perhaps a difference in approach and energy. That remains to be seen yet I am most curious.
An Overall Rating, But Only So Far
Giving an overall rating should really wait till then: but if we are all insisting then I’ll give these two Episodes a solid 8.5 out of 10, where things are yet to be resolved, this number will certainly change.
The Rings of Power is eager to please, as I said on Twitter. There is wonderment and a strong undercurrent of greatness that could be a real knock-out, if the stars align, or the Meteor Man arrives. One need not be afraid to enter gamely into Lore discussions (“Why is there even a Meteor Man?”) because from those open-handed chats we all learn and appreciate more about Tolkien — and what we love about him. Again, pass or fail, The Rings of Power surely will bring new readers with a healthy curiosity. And so in the end we get to engage and encourage an ongoing fandom.
